700 benefit from free health care service in Ogun

Over 700 elderly men, women and children in Ikenne, Ogun State, have benefited from free medical services of the Remo Medical Outreach.

The outreach was organized to address common ailments of residents in 33 communities that cut across three local government areas. They are Sagamu, Ikenne and Remo North respectively.

The free health care service which began in Sagamu weeks ago, started in Ikenne, on Friday where the over 700 beneficiaries had their blood sugar and blood pressure checked by a team of health care experts.

Many were also given drugs for common ailments such as malaria, typhoid fever and infections among others as prescribed by the physicians that had attended to their respective health challenges.

About 3,200 people in some communities and local government areas are expected to benefit from the outreach before it rounds off.

The Coordinator of the Outreach, Prince Femi Akinwunmi told reporters in Ikenne that the scheme was part of his ways of giving back to the society, boost healthy living and complement Ogun State government’s efforts in the area of health care delivery.

The 42 year-old Pharmacist said he was able to embark upon the multi-million naira free health care services with the help of pharmaceutical companies such as Emzor, Fidson, Green Life, Real, Jawa, May and Baker, among others.

According to him, the supportive drug firms shared in his belief that the burden of providing medical care for the people should not be left completely for the government to bear.

“What we are even working at is to have a non-fee-paying pharmacy in all government hospitals across the state where our people who would have registered with such centres can access free drugs when they go to hospital.

“The whole idea is about giving back to the society in our own little way by leveraging on the resources around us both in human and materials terms. We seriously crave the support of private sectors and other well-meaning Nigerians to assist us so that we can do more,” he said.

Although he has an ambition to vie for the position to represent Remo Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives in 2019 general election on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Akinwunmi said one does not have to be in position of leadership first in order to help humanity. He added that for any one that has a heart of giving and helping others, being in government may put the person at vantage position to deploy government policy to do more and help larger number of people.

In her short remark during the launch of the free medical outreach at the Akarigbo Palace, Sagamu earlier, the Chief Executive Officer of Emzor Group, Nigeria, Dr (Mrs) Stella Okoli, praised Prince Akinwunmi for his initiative to promote healthy living among his people.